Author's note: Hello! It's been a while since I updated! I've been sort of busy with my school work and I was also kind of challenged with this other fic I'm working on. Another reason why I wasn't able to update was because I had to play FFX all over again to get a few historical backgrounds on the places, like the fact that there used to be a big city a thousand years ago standing where Mi'ihen highroad is, and that Sin destroyed that. Also, there used to be a Machina city built on brifges over the Moonflow Still thinking about a possible name for those cities, since I suppose the name Mi'ihen wasn't given for that place till Yuna's time. I vaguely remember Maechen somehow explaining that in the story and I had just reached that part. I needed the background because Lenne and Shuyin will be passing through there too. And does any of you know when the lightning towers were built in the Thunder Planes? Teehee! I don't want them to get burned to a crisp when they pass through there…

Oh, well. R and R!

Disclaimer: I do not own FFX-2!

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Shuyin ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly as he sat in front of Macalania Temple, lost in his confusion, and oblivious of the temperature that had suddenly dropped the moment they neared the holy place. He had kept on asking himself on what had just happened back there in the lake. What in Spira had gotten over him then, kissing Lenne like that? It had come out of the blue, that urge. But at least he knew that he hadn't said anything stupid or whatever.

Come to think of it, what had he said to her then?

Groaning inwardly, he buried his face in his hands. This was the most terrible feeling ever… He couldn't remember how it even ended, what she did or what she said. More so, what she felt. He had entered into a trance, after that kiss, and found himself sitting on a rock in front of the Temple all alone. At first he thought it was another of Lenne's pranks, but after seeing himself in front of that temple that looked like it was made of ice, standing in the middle of a deep ravine, he decided the Summoner had probably gone inside with Xarinne, being her Guardian, to get her next Aeon.

No. This was not good. He could feel himself wanting to see her, to see how she would look at him after their kiss…

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he tried to remember the post-kiss episode.

Yeah, he had been the first one to pull away. Then Lenne had looked at him for the longest possible time, again with the gray eyes… And then she promised him again, that she will be safe. Then he had led her out of the water without saying anything and then made their way through the trees after the Ronso.

And they had walked in silence until they reached that place.

Not much help, that memory… Now what?

He had never really thought of him as being that forward to anyone. She had been crying, and he didn't know what to do, and then there was the sudden urge to plant his lips on her beautiful mouth. He blamed the place. It was too beautiful…

And now, he had irreversibly performed an act he did not know if he liked or not.

He was never really good when it came to intimacy, so basically he was lost. In all honesty, he knew he had been lost from the moment Lenne walked into his life that fateful night. He had come with her to this pilgrimage for no reason at all, with nothing to gain, simply because he had nothing to do. In Zanarkand, he had a superficial life. He would dodge balls and tackles and Shuyin-crazy women, then earn medals not because he was that good, but because he happened to be better than everyone else. Or at least this was what he thought. He needed to be compared to others in order to determine his worth, but he himself was never satisfied…

And until Lenne came, his life had no meaning. Now, he had a purpose. And however unofficial it was, he knew deep down, he existed for her. That was all.

Silent groaning and heavy footsteps coming from some where behind him interrupted his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he gasped and immediately was on his feet. "What happened?" he demanded as he ran to Xarinne. Lenne was in the Ronso's arms, unconscious.

Xarinne looked like he would faint. "Lenne came out like this. Lenne fell into Xarinne's arms and would not open her eyes. Shuyin! Xarinne has failed as a Guardian!" he bawled.

Shuyin peered into Lenne's face. "Hush now, Xarinne. She's just sleeping. She was like this with her first Aeon, too. So I think it's safe to say this is normal."

With this, the Ronso began to breathe in a more relaxed manner. "Xarinne is worried. But if Shuyin say it is normal, then Xarinne believes it to be so."

"Take it easy, big guy. Here. Do you want me to carry her for you?"

The Ronso was more than willing. He gingerly placed Lenne on his back and sighed with reief. "Lenne is so puny. Xarinne scared to hurt her."

Shuyin adjusted his broadsword do as to make sure Lenne was comfortable. "If it were up to me, I'd gladly wait until she wakes up, but right now, with us so close to Bevelle, I think it would be better to move on. Let's go."

And so they walked across the long path that led to the Thunder Plains. It was the only way they could cross to Guadosalam, the home of the proud Guado race, and then into the Moonflow. They walked for hours silently, fear gripping their hearts and hoping against hope that no soldiers were doing their rounds at the moment.

But luck was definitely not on their side.

Xarinne suddenly stopped walking, a low growl bubbling in his throat. "Xarinne smell company…"

Shuyin tensed. This was not the perfect time! He cursed under his breath as he heard heavy, uncountable footsteps coming from behind them. In a hurry, Shuyin scanned the path in front of them, then to the sleeping Summoner behind him. If they find them here, who knows what they'll do?

The fur on Xarinne's neck raised in anticipation as he waited for Shuyin's order to fight, but instead, Shuyin motioned to the trees. "Hide, Xarinne."

The Ronso was confused. "But - "

"No buts. Just do it."

And complying, they stealthily hid behind the nearest tree. Shuyin cradled the sleeping Lenne to his chest, trying as hard as he could not to breathe. Xarinne was a few feet away from him, crouched low and trying hard to be as small as possible. Shuyin peered out in between the branches and that was when he saw them. A dozen or so Bevelle guards, armed with their trademark bladed guns, marching down the path, laughing and cheering noisily.

Shuyin held his breath as they approached. They were talking quite loudly.

"… making a deal with the Al Bhed," he heard one say.

"Making machina that dangerous, those Al Bhed sure are creepy. I mean, how could they have done it? Putting all those negative emotions in a machine?" said the other one.

"Scary, I tell you. But if it's the only thing that'll crush those Zanarkand worms, I say Maester Lua should do it."

What? Shuyin felt his spine turn to ice at the mention of the city. What are they planning? What are they talking about? Crushing…? Crushing what? With what?

Shuyin tried to move forward to listen more. Bad idea.

SNAP!

His boots crunched on a dry twig, and in a heartbeat, the dozen or so soldiers had their guns pointed to where they were hiding.

Shit! Why does this always happen to me?

He felt Xarinne grip his pike, ready to fight. Shuyin glanced down at Lenne and cursed even more. They were in a predicament now…

He saw one guard approach their hiding place cautiously while the others kneeled into position, waiting for a signal to open fire.

No. This is a lose-lose situation. If we fight, and even if we win, it would be more than enough commotion to have more soldiers running. And if we manage to escape, they'll be all over us even before we could finish this Pilgrimage.

Shuyin shook his head, feeling utterly helpless. The guard was coming closer and closer….

But suddenly, luck turned out to be on their side after all.

Shuyin's head shot up as someone from somewhere above them shouted.

"RUN!" the voice said, echoing through the silent forest. Suddenly, all the guards were pointing their guns to every direction at once. Shuyin didn't waste any time. Gathering Lenne in his arms, he bolted to a dead run through the trees, the only thought in his mind was who their life-saver was. He saw Xarinne overtake him, to make sure they were not going to end up in more trouble and Shuyin took the time to look over his shoulder. Suddenly, a familiar-looking man dropped down from the trees and gracefully landed on his feet. The man didn't waste any time. With a swift flick of his wrists, he unceremoniously chucked something round and bulky at the group of panicking soldiers.

Shuyin gasped. Oh, no! It's a …

The man began to run towards them. The man, Shuyin recognized, was the foul-tongued Al Bhed back in the agency! He screamed at them. "I thought I told you to ru - "

The man's voice was drowned as the world behind them exploded in a swirl of fire and heat, the impact hitting them like a tidal wave, sending the man flying. Shuyin held on to Lenne for dear life and shielded her from the scorching fires that licked the trees, toppling over from the loud blast.

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Shuyin shoved Lenne into Xarinne's arms and stalked to the Al Bhed who was still face-down on the ground. Angrily, he pulled the man up by the collar as he did to him before in the Agency. "What the heck have you been thinking, throwing a grenade like that with us so near it?!"

The man stared at him with those green eyes and smirked. "I just saved your life, and this is the thanks I get? You're really ungrateful, aren't you?"

Shuyin pulled him closer, so as to have him look him directly in the eye. "We are no more than a thousand meters away from Bevelle. That loud ruckus you've termed as 'saving us' may cost us all our lives! Right now I'm not surprised if we end up having them on our heels."

The man gave him a blank expression. "Well, if you really want to stay alive, I suggest you let me go and let's start getting out of here!" he shouted then shoved Shuyin back. "Get a life, man."

Shuyin had never felt this angry towards anybody in his whole life. Stalking back to Xarinne, he snatched back Lenne and started to move out. The Ronso stared at him for a moment before finally following. What annoyed Shuyin more was that the man started following them, too. And since he was determined to get out of there, he decided to ignore him. But it was starting to get really bothersome, so when he decided that it was safe enough to slow down a bit, he turned to the man and snapped at him. "Fro tu oui vummuf ic?"

The man shook his head in that cock way that drove Shuyin crazy. "Zucd palyica E's fymguhk dra cysa bydr yc oui yna tuah'd sayh E's vummufuhk oui."

Shuyin shook his head and was about to snap back at him when Lenne suddenly stirred. Shuyin peered down at her worriedly. "Lenne, are you okay?"

The Summoner looked at him with puffy gray eyes and groaned, leaning her head on his chest. "World… spinning… urgh… "

The man smirked, propping his fists on his waist and shaking his head. "Is she really a Summoner?"

Shuyin growled angrily as he turned his eyes to the Al Bhed. "Why don't you just leave her alone."

The Al Bhed raised his hands in front of him in surrender, nervously laughing. Shuyin wondered why he suddenly became that meek towards him. When he returned his gaze back to Lenne, he saw she, too, cringed at his stare. He tried to smile. He must have frightened her with his glare. "Are you okay, Lenne?"

She nodded her head. "I'm all right." She turned to the jerk. "You're that man… that man Shuyin tried to…" she paused then frowned. "You're that man Shuyin tried to strangle. Why are you here?"

That's what I would like to know, too, Shuyin thought to himself. His eyes quickly darted to the Al Bhed's hand, which suspiciously moved from his waist to his pocket. The blitzball player held his breath, not knowing whether he was going to pull out another grenade or something that was going to blow them up sky high. He only resumed breathing when he saw that it was just a brown purse.

Shuyin felt all the blood drain from his face. A familiar brown purse. That's…

Lenne's eyes widened in surprise. "Hey! That's my purse!" She turned to Shuyin. "Shuyin! I thought you had that. I asked you to keep that for me… Why does he have it?"

Shuyin shook his head in bewilderment. No one had ever succeeded in catching him off-guard before…. "I… don't know…"

The man tossed the purse into the air and Lenne, still cradled in the Blitzball player's arms, caught it. "My name is Parish. That boyfriend of yours was too angry that he didn't even realize I swiped your gil back there in the Agency in the Calm Lands. Ran is my father. He asked me to follow you because he said I should not add up to the image on how people see Al Bhed, so I returned it. So there." He smirked cockily. "What have you learned today, pretty boy?"

Never in his life had he ever met someone as arrogant as he was. If it had not been for Lenne in his arms, he would have hit the bastard in the mouth. He slowly set the Songstress down and made sure she had her balance before he let go.

The next thing Lenne did surprised him. She faced the guy who called himself Parish and slowly took a humble bow. "Thank you for returning my purse. Our journey is still quite long, and this is the only money that we have."

What even surprised Shuyin next was that Parish actually looked embarrassed at such a polite gesture. His face reddened and he shuffled his feet on the dirt. "I didn't do nothing."

Lenne shook her head. "Not anyone would bother returning something they stole, or even admit that they did it. Please. It's dangerous to go back to where we came. Perhaps you'd like to join our party until we reach a safe place where we can go our separate ways?"

It was then did he realize that this insensitive Al Bhed was like him after all, for the mere reason that he had somehow found himself in Lenne's whirlpool, being sucked in helplessly. He did not know where he had actually gotten that idea, but somehow, he knew that that was what was happening… Parish… was one of them, whatever that meant… he just… felt it.

But he sure as hell did not like it.

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All throughout their journey through Macalania Woods, none of them talked. Actually, Shuyin had found the silence quite welcoming. Their little party of four could attract more attention than necessary. Not that there were any people to attract attention from. Their slow walk was actually smooth, and had it not been for Parish who occasionally hummed a very unfamiliar tune, the trip would have been in an unbreakable silence. Even Lenne did not speak. Which in reality made Shuyin nervous. He hated it when he did not know what she was thinking. Not once did she mention anything about their little shared kiss in the lake, which made him wonder if it ever happened at all, thus making him a little edgy. But since he respected her privacy, he decided not to press on the issue too much. It should not be such a big deal. A kiss was just a kiss after all.

But then, why in Spira did he feel like it had to have been more…?

In the corner of his eye, he watched Lenne, her long, unbelievably beautiful hair swinging with every step. It was awfully weird. Just looking at her made him swallow hard.

What a mush he had become. This was not him. He was Shuyin! He didn't give a damn about anything!

Until now…

When they finally rounded the bend that led to the narrow path separating Macalania to the Thunder Planes, he was suddenly yanked back to reality when he heard the very disturbing sound of someone crying.

Xarinne had heard it first, his ears twitching cautiously as he stopped in his tracks. Parish, too, was suddenly wary, his hands hovering over the hunting knife tucked in his belt.

Shuyin was suddenly confused. The crying came somewhere ahead in the path. It was definitely a male voice weeping. Feeling quite disturbed, he was about to tell the group to make a detour through the trees, but Lenne had immediately rushed towards the direction of the voice, her boots crunching noisily down the path. She did not wait for them, nor did she listen to Shuyin's protests. She immediately disappeared through the undergrowth, Xarinne not far behind her. Shuyin, sighing in frustration, followed them, and Parish hurrying after him, all wound up and ready to spring into action.

Shuyin did not feel like there was any trouble waiting for them. But it was better to be safe than sorry, and instinctively, his hands hovered near his broadsword. But when he saw the sight that awaited them from the curb, his hand immediately dropped to his sides as he felt his knees betrayed him, causing him to stagger as he fell in beside Lenne who had her hands pressed to her mouth…

There, on a bloodstained clearing, was a hulking man with long, fiery red hair. He was no taller than Shuyin himself, but he was broad, a bloodstained axe that the blitzball player could have easily assumed as the man's weapon was lying forgotten a few feet from him.

And there, in his arms, was a woman, also with red hair. Shuyin squinted and gasped. No. The woman doesn't have red hair. She has blond hair… soaked in blood…

He had never really thought of himself as squeamish, but right then, he felt his stomach lurch violently and he held his breakfast in. The dead woman had a ragged slash across her throat, and bullet holes dotted her body. The man, too, was obviously wounded, but he paid no heed to his injuries. The woman was dead. To Shuyin, he knew that the man wanted to die, too.

Lenne, however, did not wait a second longer. Hurrying to the man, she kneeled by the couple and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I am the Summoner Lenne, from the city of Zanarkand. Please, let me lend my assistance and perform the Sending for her."

Shuyin felt his limbs go numb as he saw the man raise his face to look at Lenne. He could not read the emotions going on in those pale eyes. All he could decipher was pain… nothing more. The man nodded anyway, but instead of letting the body go and stepping aside, he held on to it much tighter, as if wanting to be sent himself.

Shuyin knew, though that this was not possible. But although he has known of Summoners dancing to send spirits to the Farplane, he had never actually seen one.

What he did not know was that after seeing one, he would wish he had never witnessed it in the first place.

Although he had seen Lenne dance before, this time, it was a different kind of dance...

Very different…

He really could not explain it. When Lenne slowly raised her hands on front of her face to begin the ritual, it was as if everything went silent, the wind, the trees, everything. And the temperature suddenly dropped even more...

And then it began.

Shuyin felt like he was watching the wind as the Summoner swayed in a music only she could hear. Her arms, and legs, gracefully moving in a complex weave of steps that differed from her other dances. This… this was a sad dance…

And Shuyin felt his hair stand on end as slowly, pyreflies suddenly emerged from the dead, unmoving body of the woman in the weeping man's arms. He watched as the shining things twirled around Lenne as she dipped and swayed in rhythm. But all those, her grace, her talent, everything disappeared, when he saw silent tears fall from her closed eyes. And he started wondering if performing a sending hurt the Summoner. He hoped against hope that it did not…

His hands clenched into fists as he suddenly found himself wanting everything to be over.

Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing. Stop dancing…

And finally, she stopped, and the Pyreflies faded into nothingness.

Shuyin started to breathe again. He felt the temperature go back to how it was, and he felt a light pressure on his left shoulder. It was Xarinne, staring at him with worried cat-eyes. He shook his head and the Ronso let go.

Lenne was still as a rock, standing there with her hands pretty much how they were before she began. She did not look hurt, but she looked… exhausted… And by her feet, crouched the man, alone. The body of the woman gone…

Shuyin shuddered. He prayed that he will never have to see her do that again…

Ever…

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A/N: Nothing much happened here, but I've pretty much written down the outline of what is going to happen in the story. Sorry again for not updating soon, but I sort of base what I write on inspiration, you see… and not much inspiration hitting me for this story until I played FFX again. God! You won't believe how much I missed having more than three characters, as opposed to FFX-2! Hehehehehehe! Anyway, I'll try to update sooner. And well, there will be a lot of grammatical errors ant typos in this story, so I'm apologizing in advanced already. I'm still out looking for someone who's willing to proofread my work. ', Anyone interested?